Survival Mode
Survival Mode is a game mode which was released in the Downloadable Content from Valve Corporation; the Survival Pack. This game mode throws waves and waves of the Infected at the Survivors until they die. There is no way to really win this through surviving, but instead the goal is to survive as long as you can and set new records. There are currently thirty-one different maps to play on in Survival Mode, thirty come almost directly from the campaign mode while a new map called The Lighthouse, which was released with the pack, but appears to be attributed with something called The Last Stand. All of the maps have been modified to essentially trap the Survivors into the designated area. Doors have been blocked off, and most choke points such as closets have been removed, leaving the players out in the open. It is possible that, in the future, more maps will be released for the gametype, perhaps filling out the campaigns in entirety. Gameplay ''Left 4 Dead'' Each survival match starts with a setup time, allowing time for you and your team to scour the map for useful items. The teams will find health kits, tier 2 weapons, pipe bombs and molotovs, pills, propane tanks, oxygen tanks, and gas cans scattered around the area. Each Survivor holds on to pills, a health kit and dual pistols at a spawn point of each map(before starting the match), right after loading the Survival game. You can take as much time as you want, as the timer at the top of the screen doesn't begin until someone hits the button that alerts the horde. Once the button (typically in the form of whatever the chapter's Crescendo Event is in the campaign) is activated, the action gets off to a furious start and escalates from there. http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/03/ign-details-left-4-dead-survival-mode.ars ''Left 4 Dead 2'' Survival mode gameplay in Left 4 Dead 2 is very much the same related to Left 4 Dead's survival mode. Differences include being given adrenaline, bile jar, new weapons, and having to deal with a wider variety of different special infected. On Dark Carnival's Stadium Entrance, you can also have another way to summon the Horde. Also in Left 4 Dead 2, there is a new mutation mode called "Versus Survival" which is a mix of both Survival, and Versus mode. In Versus, the Survivors' objective is the same as the normal Left 4 Dead 2 Survival Mode, with the added difficulty of player-controlled Special Infected. The teams take turns playing as the Survivors, and the goal is to beat the other team's survival time. 'Strategy' As always, teamwork and staying together are necessary for survival. Beyond that, survival strategies vary from map to map and from team to team. It is possible to obtain a Gold Medal achievement by staying in one area of a map, but some may find it more advantageous to move from room to room in order to get more items and ammo. Difficulty increases with time as supplies dwindle, and surviving often involves fending off multiple Special Infected and at times, multiple Tanks. As with Versus mode, the melee fatigue cooldown applies. If players are very strong, they can stay together for a long amount of time. Various Special Infected spawn at first with Common Infected. After 42 seconds in-game, a Tank will spawn and attack. There are "grace" times where you will only be facing Special and Common Infected, without a Tank harassing you as much during the first 42 seconds to 5 minutes. Playable Locations ''Left 4 Dead No Mercy *The Generator Room *The Gas Station *The Hospital *The Roof Top *Training ground Crash Course *The Alleys *The Truck Depot Death Toll *The Floodgate *The Church *The Street *The Boat House Dead Air *The Crane *The Construction Site *The Terminal *The Runway Blood Harvest *The Warehouse *The Bridge *The Farmhouse The Sacrifice *TraincarThis level is special as it forces the Survivors to fight a Tank at the beginning prior to the first Tank that spawns at approx. 40 seconds. *Port Finale The Last Stand *The Lighthouse Left 4 Dead 2 Dead Center *Mall Atrium The Passing *The Riverbank *The Underground *The Port Dark Carnival *Motel *The CoasterThese survival maps are fully functional, but can only be accessed on PC through the console or with a menu modification. *Stadium Gate *Concert Swamp Fever *Gator Town *The Shantytown *The Plantation Hard Rain *Burger Tank *Sugar Mill *Mill Escape *Town Escape The Parish *The Waterfront *Bus Depot *Bridge The Sacrifice *Traincar *Port Finale No Mercy *The Generator Room *The Roof Top Achievements [[Video:Left 4 Dead 2- Beat the Rush Achievement Guide|thumb|300px|right|Achievementors "Beat the Rush" Guide for ''Left 4 Dead 2]] :See Main Article: Achievements Left 4 Dead None of the Survival Achievements are present in the Xbox 360 version of the game since it is free DLC. Left 4 Dead 2 Tips and Tricks These tips are general, not for specific maps. *''Always'' stick together; breaking off will cause a large problem to the team and severely weaken them. *Try to find everything you can find in the map. Throw Gas cans and Propane tanks in a place where you won't shoot them by accident, but have a backup supply of "Molotovs" if you do not have any Molotovs. *Place everything you need in the area you plan to hold out in. This is useful as you do not have to run to a nearby supply area and get attacked easily. *Players playing with bots will have a slight disadvantage over a team of players. Bots cannot carry throwables, nor are they good in teamwork. Be careful when setting up ammo boxes as they will grab them regardless if they have just picked the other one you had laid down even if in full ammo. *Try to find a melee weapon in the map. This is useful when you are surrounded by Infected or when killing Tanks. Most maps tend to have a couple of melee weapons scattered throughout the area. *A Defibrillator will be extremely useful in case the Infected manage to kill someone. *Have a Molotov in handy to deal with the Tanks, espically when the Director sends two of them coming at you. Bile Bombs and Pipe Bombs are also useful for getting the Common Infected away from you. *Within 9-10 minutes after starting the clock, one can execpt around eight or nine Tanks to be defeated. More Tanks spawn, usually at the same time the Horde renews again. *Always try to find a spot where it has the advantages you need there. Try to prevent Infected from attacking more than two ways, and always find a spot where you can leave in an emergency. *Survival mode has similar effects to Versus mode. Jockeys and Hunters can stumble nearby players at the target, and may cause them to fall off causing someone to get them back up. However, a Smoker's drag does not cause damage to players. Notes * The Parish's "Float" Crescendo event and Dark Carnival's "Roller Coaster" crescendo event can be activated while playing survival mode, but they require noclip or reduced gravity to reach. Alternatively players can use weapons and infected to their advantage, the explosions from the grenade launcher can be used to propel survivors into areas that lead to the Parish's "Float" Crescendo event and Dark Carnival's "Roller Coaster" Crescendo event. * You can, with the help of reduced gravity or noclip, reach the Sacrifice bridge, activate the real finale once everyone is on the bridge, and effectively win the campaign on Survival by restarting the generator * In Left 4 Dead, a pistol will spawn at the beginning of the maps. It is unknown why it spawns, as it is the only sidearm available in the game and you begin with duals the minute you start. * Using Console Commands, you can play inaccessible maps like, The Streets, The Hotel, The Waterfront, The Quarter and the Coaster. * In all of the maps given, sometimes a glitch may occur where two of the same type of Special Infected will spawn. The same affects The Mall section of Dead Crossing. *There are some areas of the map where the Infected can not reach you. If you are in one of these spots, the AI director will spawn Spitter spit on you. This spit will not go away until you either leave the area or are incapacitated. This has been known to occur inside of maps near the edge in areas where Infected can reach you, killing teams who are not cheating. * If you play at The Port, Francis, Louis, and Zoey will not be there, due to the fact that they would be doing all the work for you. * In Dark Carnival it is easier to earn the achievement GONG SHOW(by glitching) and STACHE WACKER as at the start there are no special infected to distract you. However if you are not prepared the Horde will get a surprise attack on you. * In the game files, Survival Mode is often referred to as 'Holdout Mode' * The game files in Left 4 Dead reference 2 maps, Freighter, in which you had to start a generator, and Highrise, where an elevator had to be started. Category:Gameplay Modes